Beer Geeks in the Heartland

Our trip to the Great Nebraska Beer Festival gave us the opportunity to explore the Omaha beer scene. Not generally a city associated with the craft beer revolution, good beer can definitely be found in America’s heartland.

Our very first brewery in Nebraska

We previously visited Omaha in 1992. At that time, I half-jokingly told a friend who played baseball for Cal, that if the team made the College World Series, we would go. Long story short, Cal made the CWS. In the infancy of our beer travels, I vaguely remember checking to see if there were any breweries in the area. There were not.

The sample flight at Lucky Bucket

This trip was going to be different, though, and there was an air of excitement as we parked our rental car in an industrial park in the Omaha suburb of La Vista. The first stop, our 741st brewery, would be our very first in Nebraska. It had been along day of travel and our excitement might have been compounded by Merideth and I craving our first beers of the day. The honor went to Lucky Bucket Brewing.

Enjoying a pint of Cunningham Kriek at Lucky Bucket

The tasting room was already busy when we arrived late Friday afternoon. We grabbed the only available table next to the distillery and quickly ordered the sample flight.

There were six beers in the flight. While based on our history you might assume that the Lucky Bucket Lager and IPA would be each of our favorite beers, neither were. In one of those rare occasions, we agreed that the Cunningham Kriek was the star. From their Single Batch Series, the red-brown Kriek had a really pleasant, dry, fruit character. While not as tart as I like my Krieks, it was a great introduction to the diversity of the Nebraska beer scene.

Nebraska Brewing

Nebraska Brewing, host of the festival, was our next stop. Located at the end of Shadow Lake Towne Center’s faux main street shopping area, the cookie-cutter mall exterior contrasted sharply with the cozy, pub feel of the interior.

Merideth and I only experienced Nebraska Brewing in the context of the festival. Despite the frenetic air with festival goers coming and going, I got a strong sense of a neighborhood, family-friendly establishment.

Enjoying an IPA on the patio at Nebraska Brewing

They were popular at the Firestone Walker Invitational this past June and since then, I have had a number of “you HAVE to try their beer” recommendations from friends. However, unlike most every other brewery stop, we never did order a sample flight.

While Merideth pin-balled between the Infinite Wit and EOS Hefeweizen, I stuck with their IPA. With 2010 World Beer Championship Silver medal to its credit, the 6.5% ABV and 65 IBU IPA had a wonderful floral nose and a ‘did-I-just-finish-another-one’ drinkability. It could easily hold its own in the lineup of IPAs on the West Coast.

Obviously, we need to return to Nebraska Brewing in the future to try its full lineup.

The second largest labor monument in the United States

In our schedule, we had one free day, Sunday, to explore Omaha. Despite the midday heat and humidity, the draw of a Lewis and Clark landing site had Merideth and I strolling along the scenic river front walk located downtown. While boats cruised up and down the Missouri River, we tried to take in all the scenery.

Lewis and Clark were just one of the draws in the 23 acre park. For me, its most impressive feature was the labor monument, the second largest of its kind in the United States.

Upstream Brewing in the Old Market.

We could only survive about an hour under the blazing sun. Luckily, I planned our walk to finish up in the cobbled streets of Omaha’s Old Market. The city’s arts and entertainment district, the Old Market was home to our last brewery stop of the trip, Upstream Brewing.

Housed in the district’s 1904 firehouse, the blast of air conditioning was a most welcome feeling as we passed through Upstream’s front doors. After enjoying the cool air for a moment, we settled down at the dark wood bar to drink some beer.

The sample flight at Upstream

The ten brew flight was the largest and most diverse of the trip. Three fruit beers and a chocolate Saison rounded out the more familiar Pale Ale, Red Ale, and IPA selections. Merideth’s favorites, the crisp Groll Bohemian Pilsner and the refreshing I Don’t Know Tropical Saison (flavored with hibiscus flowers and passion fruit) paired perfectly with the hot and humid weather.

A pleasant Omaha evening…

I quickly identified Capitol Pale Ale as a favorite until I tried Flagship IPA. The copper-colored brew had delicious citrus and pine hop flavors. If I learned one thing on the trip, it is that the West Coast-style IPA is alive and well in Nebraska!

As the afternoon heat of the day broke, Merideth and I were able to finish our heartland beer adventure on Upstream’s expansive patio. Enjoying a few brews on a pleasant Midwest summer evening, it was a relaxing way to end our whirlwind trip.

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2 thoughts on “Beer Geeks in the Heartland”

Glad you made it to Nebraska and got to try out a few of the breweries in the area! The beer scene and community is vibrant and growing quickly around here!

I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t point out a slight error regarding Nebraska Brewing’s IPA. It won silver in the 2010 World Beer Championship, not the World Beer Cup. World Beer Championship is more of a grade based competition instead of the more common 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place beer competitions. We feel much more honored by our silver medal in the 2011 LA International Commercial Beer Competition where we got to go up against some of our favorite west cost IPA’s!

Who is thebeergeek.com

Merideth Canham Nelson’s appreciation of beer developed in 1992 while working at a multi-tap pub in Oakland, California. She wanted to be knowledgeable about the beer she was serving and the best way to do it was to visit the breweries themselves. Merideth has visited over 1,000 breweries in her beer travels. When she is not traveling, Merideth works as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Read more about Merideth

When not traveling Chris Nelson represents Discretion Brewing in Monterey County, as well as raises the couple’s dachshunds Wit, Hacker and Schwarz. In 2007, Chris, out of 7,800 applicants from 31 countries, was a final four candidate for Four Points by Sheraton’s coveted position of Chief Beer Officer. A beer traveler for 20 years, Chris has visited over 1,000 breweries throughout the world. Read more about Chris